


Why Did The Vase Slide?

by The_Persian_Slipper



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Extended Mind Palace, Forwards or Backwards, HLV, His Last Vow, Meta, Sherlock Meta, Spoilers for S3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 11:04:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21035222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Persian_Slipper/pseuds/The_Persian_Slipper
Summary: This is a meta I wrote about a very interesting prop doing a very interesting thing in the background of the scene where Mary shoots Sherlock and how it may tie in with the Extended Mind Palace theory.





	Why Did The Vase Slide?

**Author's Note:**

> Many brilliant meta-writers have discussed the various intricate layers that may explain the weirdness of S4 (and even before that), by proving that what we are seeing is NOT REAL. That proposition gave birth to new questions - If it’s not reality, what is it? And when did the change occur? And why, to what purpose? When will we return to reality? And how?
> 
> Different theories have emerged, each of them with their merits. The two I have seen discussed at length are the Blog Theory and EMP Theory (Extended Mind Palace). We have wracked our collective brain trying to decide which explanation best fits all the facts, and we are still at it. (that’s the fun in fandom, right?)
> 
> This is my small, uninformed contribution. I have to confess, I have been putting off writing this because I feel a bit intimidated about the quality of the discussion going around such great meta writers in this fandom. I feel like a new kid working up the courage to go play with the cool kids.
> 
> I’m not 100% sure about this theory, but I wanted to put it out there and discuss it with the fandom. I know it’s a bit out there, a bit provocative, but I wanted to hear your thoughts about it if only for the mental exercise.
> 
> I apologize if this has been discussed before, I mean no disrespect.

This is my argument in favor of EMP and the fact that we may have entered it when Mary shot Sherlock. And to what purpose?

_I think Sherlock is testing a hypothesis. _

**a) Why does the skull change?**

This has been haunting my dreams for months. Back in early 2017, we were still reeling from the fuckiness of S4. One of the most noticeable changes to the Sherlock universe in S4 was the skull painting hanging in the 221b sitting room.

  


A fan asked Arwel Wyn Jones about this, and the [answer](https://yan-yae.tumblr.com/post/156232625765/isitandwonder-sereneholmes) was stuck in my brain ever since.

> **Fan: **Now can U PLEASE explain the secret behind the skull painting?why it changes color?
> 
> (…)  
**Arwel:** Why did the vase slide?

We did not question the changed skull painting in TAB because the rest of the set had obligingly changed around it too. We assumed that the skull painting had changed because we were not in the show’s “reality” but in something different.

So maybe the question about the S4 glowing skull should not be “Why (does) it change color?” but “Why does it change?”. <strike>I am thoroughly ignoring the answer they gave us about it being too expensive to keep renting the painting, or because the lamp behind it had gone out - that is utter BS.</strike>

We have, as a fandom, reached the collective answer that the skull changes (and continues to change through S4) because _**what we are seeing is not real**. _What we are actually seeing is still a matter for debate.

You can ask me, why am I bringing this all up again? We know all of this.

Well, because I want to transpose this answer to the other question: _Why did the vase slide? _The question Arwel uses to reply to the fan’s question, the one he implies has the same answer.

##  _The skull glows and the vase slides because what we are seeing is not real._

**b) Why did the vase slide?**

As the wonderful [@tjlcisthenewsexy](https://tmblr.co/m3cKRztnGlO63H-1PJU-5YA) has [mentioned](https://tjlcisthenewsexy.tumblr.com/post/158758961545/i-think-the-thing-that-convinces-me-of-the-emp), the vase Arwel is referring to is the one in CAM’s office when Mary shoots Sherlock and we are treated to this amazing camera shot.

This may indeed be a visual sign that we are following Sherlock inside his mind as he is loosing consciousness. In [this same thread ](https://sarahthecoat.tumblr.com/tagged/Forwards-or-backwards), [@gosherlocked](https://tmblr.co/mIezJLOqh6ybA-BhE420_yw) and [@possiblyimbiassed](https://tmblr.co/mdmRjJedXNC7IIR9ayCCSMA) mention other times when this tilting effect is used. Every time, the camera angle keeps Sherlock vertical and tilts the rest of reality.

But what has been nagging at me is this: 

\- _Why did the vase slide?_ It those other moments where the same tilting effect is used, there are no props sliding. This instance is unique because of this.

\- _Why did Arwel mention this? _The tilting effect is not new on _Sherlock._

I know this may be just an artistic choice, that they decided to make the vase slide to underline that the center of our universe, that what really matters here, is Sherlock.

But let me push this a little bit further (<strike>this is the provocative part</strike>):

What if the vase slides (and the skull changes) because what we are seeing _is not real_? 

What if the vase slides because it’s “the thirteenth stroke of the clock” of this scene? What if the vase slides because it’s meant to destroy the reality of this scene?

It doesn’t make sense for the vase to move, but it still does. 

What we are seeing is false. The scene is false. Sherlock hasn’t fallen backwards.

*dun-duuuun*

**c) Forwards or backwards?**

“Forwards or backwards?” What if this question is just this, a practical question? Sherlock, do you want to fall backwards and have a chance at surviving, or do you want to fall forwards and face certain death?

As a man of science, he knows that you shouldn’t make any conclusions before testing all the hypothesis. Especially not in a moment such as this, where everything lies in the balance.

For your consideration: 

Mary shoots Sherlock, and he immediately goes inside his Mind Palace. In those precious seconds of consciousness, he realizes that he has two choices. Falling forwards or backwards. 

Although he doesn’t care to admit, he is human, and has instincts, survival instincts. He first tests the hypothesis that gives him the best chance of survival - falling backwards. And he runs the events that follow that choice in his Mind Palace. 

> **Sherlock: **Really? I correctly anticipated the responses of people I know well to scenarios I devised? Can’t _everyone_ do that? (TLD)

In an Inception-like manner, the months that follow fit inside those seconds of consciousness he has left. Although his hold on logic is fragile and his hand-made scenarios are not exactly perfect (themes are reused, objects chance places and shape, people act strangely, logical threads sometimes lead nowhere) he does his best to anticipate what is going to happen. Time is running out, and so is his mind. Remember, he doesn’t have all the data, sentiment may be clouding his judgment, but he will try.

Falling backwards to survive as a person and as a character is the most instinctual response. As human beings, we feel safe in stability and fear change. As bad as things were for Sherlock at the time, we cannot blame him for trying to fall backwards and continue to survive in this narrative. But we know where this is going, we were told the same story hundreds of times now…

Sherlock anticipates that he is going to survive, but he will still be alone. Mary will be gone, yes, but she is going to die as a martyr and her ghost will dictate how Sherlock and John will live. John is going to be alone, consumed with grieve and guilt, raising Rosie. He is not going to come back to Baker Street. They will both be lonely. Most of all, Sherlock will fail in his first and only Vow - to keep the three Watsons safe. 

And Sherlock may find this unacceptable, but not for the reasons we find this unacceptable. We know why this is a wrong path, we want to see Sherlock in a place where his mind and his emotions live harmoniously and where John can break from his emotional repression and his guilt. We want the story to take the step forward and break away from 1895.

But Sherlock, in his mind, will not put his well-being first. This is his blindspot. He has no clue how much his happiness is tied to John’s happiness. But we know he will do anything _at all _to make John happy. If he thinks John is happier as a husband to Mary than as a grieving widower, he will chose to fall forward. _You chose her._

No, falling backward will not do.

Falling forwards will be a willing suicide of the character and the story. _Sherlock_, as the show, will reject the storyline and chose the unknown.

_What if he falls forward?_

You may say “But he will die!”. I will argue that he died falling backwards as well, and was saved by the power of love, of his dedication to John.

John is going to find him fallen on his front, bleeding out. He is going to turn him around and save him again. Can I hear a Garrideb?

This is what we are missing - **John**. I believe he is the one that is going to make the story move forwards, not backwards. 

During the narrative of the show, I think that John’s repression is the main obstacle for a romantic relationship between the two. His inability to embrace his true nature (the doctor AND the soldier=bissexuality) is the main reason we are at this point. We spend a lot of time on Sherlock’s character arc, but it’s John that needs to move forward the most. 

For the story to move forwards we need the **army doctor**. Not just the soldier who will shoot monstrous hounds and power through Eurus’ maze, not the doctor who does locum work at the clinic and marries his nurse - the army doctor who is has seen violent deaths, the one who knows how to treat gun-shot victims in the field.

For the story to move forward we need Sherlock to trust John with his life (his bleeding heart, literally) and for John to be the army doctor so he can be the one to save him.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my original post on my tumblr https://thepersianslipper.tumblr.com/  
I've edited it to include bits of my replies to other user's comments. I highly recommend you give it a look to read their brilliant responses. https://thepersianslipper.tumblr.com/post/186263987858/why-did-the-vase-slide#notes


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